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Julius Caesar Rhetorical Analysis

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In William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar," Mark Antony delivers a powerful and persuasive speech that serves as a masterclass in rhetorical techniques. Antony's speech takes place after the assassination of Julius Caesar, and he uses his oratory skills to sway the Roman people to his side and turn them against the conspirators. The first technique that Antony employs in his speech is the use of ethos. Ethos refers to the credibility and trustworthiness of the speaker. Antony establishes his credibility by reminding the people that he is a loyal friend of Caesar and that he is not there to praise Caesar's assassins. By doing so, Antony positions himself as an impartial and trustworthy source of information. Antony also uses pathos in his speech, appealing to the emotions of the Roman people. He …show more content…

He repeats phrases and words throughout his speech, which helps to reinforce his message and make it more memorable. One of the most famous examples of repetition in Antony's speech is the phrase "Brutus is an honorable man." Antony uses this phrase several times, but with increasing sarcasm and irony, to show the crowd that Brutus is not, in fact, honorable. Antony also uses logos, or logical appeals, in his speech. He presents evidence to support his arguments, such as the will that Caesar left behind in which he bequeaths his wealth to the Roman people. Antony uses this evidence to demonstrate that Caesar was not the tyrant that his assassins claimed him to be, but rather a benevolent leader who cared for the welfare of the Roman people. Finally, Antony uses rhetorical devices such as irony and sarcasm to undermine the credibility of Caesar's assassins. For example, he points out that Caesar's wounds were inflicted by the very people who claimed to be his friends and that they did so for "the general good." By using irony and sarcasm, Antony exposes the hypocrisy and falsehood of the conspirators'

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He orates his fear that these men, as honorable as they are, stabbed Caesar with malicious intentions. Antony uses a logical argument to mock them. He presents Caesar’s will, which bearing Caesar’s seal to further prove that this belonged to him (3.2.241). Appealing to logic includes having evidence to back it up. Caesar’s will is irrevocable evidence.

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911 Words | 4 Pages

Antony, through the use rhetorical devices of diction and verbal irony, develops an argumentation in order to turn the Plebeians against the conspirators and persuade them to avenge Caesar. Specifically, Antony declares, “Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it; / It is not meet you know how Caesar loved you. / You are not wood, you are not stone, but men; / And, being men, bearing the will of Caesar, / It will inflame you, it will make you mad: / ‘Tis good you know not that you are his heirs; / For, if you should, O, what would come of it!”

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549 Words | 3 Pages

Anthony's many times throughout his speech mocks brutus to show the audience how they shouldn’t trust brutus. “and brutus is an honorable man” (III.ii.83-85), antony using pathos to show facts on why not to trust cesar. Throughout the speech antony uses literary devices to appeal to the audience and to show the connection in the speech so that the romans will find the antony's one more persuavies since he is appealing to

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In the excerpt of Mark Antony’s Oration, in Act III and Scene II from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony is trying to make the point that the conspirators are to blame without actually making the point obvious. He does this using multiple methods, such as, repetition, sarcasm, rhetorical questions, and logos. For example, Antony uses repetition in the speech when ambitious is repeated multiple times and honorable is repeated with the phrase “Brutus is an honorable man” (line 10). This creates a sarcastic tone and makes it seem as if Caesar was really not ambitious, and Brutus was really not honorable. Antony uses rhetorical questions, such as, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious,” to hint to the audience that he does not agree

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833 Words | 4 Pages

By refusing to read the will several times and admitting that what it contains will cause the people to have such a great love for Caesar that knowing he is now dead will be unbearable, Antony ignites curiosity in the people and furthermore, a subconscious feeling of respect and graciousness toward Caesar. Basically, Antony uses Caesar’s will to convince the people that Caesar was a selfless, kind-hearted man and those who killed him should be ashamed and punished for killing an innocent man. Through Antony’s use of paralipsis, he is able to plant a seed of admiration for Caesar and one of hate for the conspirators in the hearts of the plebeians. In his speech to the citizens, Antony also asks many rhetorical questions to cause his audience to pause and reflect on how they really feel, or how Antony wants them to feel, about certain people and events that have recently become important. In one instance.

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916 Words | 4 Pages

In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony both used different techniques in order to capture the audience's attention and approval in their speeches about Caesar's death. They both include repetition, rhetorical strategies, dramatic pauses, and parallelism in order to get the crowd on their sides. Both men use different strategies by knowing the audience and they use this to their advantage. Brutus and Antony both choose the use of Pathos and Ethos specifically appeal to the audience and their love for their country.

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The most common type of pathos that Antony used was in the form of sarcasm, which can be seen when he said, “The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious: if it were so, it was a grievous fault; and grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, (for Brutus is an honourable man; so they are all, all honourable men)” (III.ii.79-85). Antony’s emotional approach was completely effective on the crowd, and he was able to turn the people into a mob and start civil war by using reverse psychology. Antony uses reverse psychology by teasing the crowd with Caesar’s will, by constantly referring to the conspirators as honorable men, and saying that he does not want to turn the Romans against Brutus, even though he clearly does.

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Antony builds support for his claims and ensures understanding amongst the audience through the continuous repetition of this effective format, whilst establishing a further connection with the people using pathos. Namely, Antony weeps, “You all did love him once, not without cause. What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.

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In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare, Caesar's greatest supporter Antony expertly utilizes repetition and pathos to incite a once-peaceful crowd of mourners to a violent angry mob. In the beginning of Antony’s funeral oration for Julius Caesar he says “Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest - / For Brutus is an honorable man; / So are they all, all honorable men” (3.2.81-83). Antony begins by acknowledging that he has been given the permission to speak at the funeral and he notes that they are “honorable men”. However, as the speech progresses, Antony subtly alters his tone each time he repeats the phrase. Every time Antony repeats that phrase he adds a note of sarcasm.

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763 Words | 4 Pages

Initially, Antony employs ethos to garner the attention of the proletariat. Rather than portraying himself as a superior ethical authority, he looks to depict himself as one of the people. A less commonly utilized tactic of ethos, Antony builds credibility by simply characterizing himself as truthful and understanding of the public. First, how he addresses the masses places them on equal footing. He requests “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

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550 Words | 3 Pages

He made the crowd feel sympathy for him and Caesar. Antony was so persistent about how he worded his speech that he made the people of Rome think they were making their own decision, when really he was influencing them to go against the conspirators. Antony showed the crowd Caesar's body and the stab wounds. Antony says, “Look you here, Here is himself, marred, as you see, with traitors” (III,ii, 191-192). By saying that, it made the crowd connect emotionally to it and feel anger.

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses the technique of rhetoric. The technique can also be referred to as the art of persuasion. The characters use this technique to persuade and trick friends, foes, and family. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses the rhetoric technique of irony in Julius Caesar. He also includes many rhetorical questions and similes to persuade others.

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949 Words | 4 Pages

Antony wants to remind the Romans that he is credible for speaking of Caesar “that love my friend, and that they know full well, that gave me public leave to speak of him” (III.ii.215-216) Antony uses ethos after telling the Romans everything to convince them in being against that conspirators’ that he can speak of Caesar because he was a close friend of Caesar. Antony convinces the Romans to retribute the conspirators’ for what they have done “In every wound of Caesar that should move the stones of Rome to rise and mutiny” (III.ii.225-226) Antony wants revenge and is convincing the Romans to riot by using pathos. Antony wants the Romans to feel sorry about Caesar’s death “here was a Caesar! When comes such another?”

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955 Words | 4 Pages

III.ii.93–96” Here is where Antony contradicts Brutus’s previous points about Caesar, and takes Brutus’s credibility away by showing them that even an honorable man like Brutus will stab you in the back. The figure of speech that keeps showing up with all these elements and ties them all together to make this funeral speech complete and convincing enough against the conspirators is repetition. Repetition shows up a lot in the speech and helps get into people’s minds that Caesar was a good guy and didn’t deserve to die. Calling Brutus an honorable man repeatedly is hurting his image, because Antony is putting the words honorable man with negative thoughts putting negativity towards Brutus.

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617 Words | 3 Pages

Marc Antony uses repetition throughout to strengthen his speech. Repetition is the action of repeating something that has already been said or written. Five times during his speech he repeats, “Brutus is an honorable man” (3.2. 94). Antony was not being very serious when he stated this. The statement was sarcastic.

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